Gov. Pat Quinn met with Cardinal Francis George and other area Catholic leaders today to try to clear the air after some recent public disagreements.

Quinn, a practicing Catholic, met privately with George and bishops at the Union League Club in the Loop. With reporters waiting outside two of the doors to the club, the governor quickly ducked into a car at a third entrance without commenting after spending about two hours inside.

George spoke briefly to reporters after the sit-down, saying it was “a pastoral meeting, so we raised pastoral issues that aren’t directly political, and in that sense it was a personal meeting that we agreed would remain a pastoral conversation.”

… The cardinal said today’s meeting took place at Quinn’s invitation.

“I think we shared some concerns on both sides,” George said. “It was a friendly and open meeting, but it was pastoral. So it was on faith and conscience, and the way in which the church engages in public life for the common good.”

Well, it’s good to see that the meeting happened. On another level, however, this gives Governor Quinn even less excuse to claim he is ignorant of the Church’s teaching and less ability to claim his public positions are in harmony with his Catholic faith. Dialogue is not an end in itself. Still, we should continue to pray that he experiences a conversion of heart before the situation further deteriorates.

Backstory:

• Illinois Bishops to Meet with Gov. Pat Quinn in One Month
• Illinois Bishops Blast Gov. Quinn For Giving Pro-Abortion Award

This happened as a direct result of the bad same-sex civil unions bill that went into law this June. A law that catholics (and other people) warned would result in, among other things, exactly this — Catholic Charities being forced out of the adoption business.

I called on catholics to oppose the bill before it was eventually passed, writing at the time (quoting the IL Catholic Conference) that the “Language in the bill offers little protection in the context of litigation that religious institutions and individuals will face if this bill is adopted.”

267 days later, here we are.

Furthermore, Catholic Charities being forced to shut down in yet another state was not an “unintended consequence” of the legislation. There are people who wanted this to happen and opposed efforts to improve the language to provide protection for religious groups and individuals. And right now they’re winning the fight to curtail religious freedom because catholics are not standing up for our rights.

Luckily, two bishops in Illinois (so far) are calling it like it is.

Bishop Daniel Jenky of the Diocese of Peoria, IL wrote (underlining mine):

“Catholic Charities is one of the lead providers of foster care services in the state. They have been valued partners for decades. Clearly the intent of the civil union law was not to force the state to end these contracts and force the transfer of thousands of children’s cases.” He continued by stating, “We continue to believe we can adhere to our religious principles and operate within Illinois law.”

The Bishop, his Priests and the faithful of the Diocese of Peoria, are simply astonished that the politicians of the state of Illinois seem to be unwilling to grant the same kind of religious accommodations that have been granted in the states of New York and Rhode Island regarding their establishment of civil unions. Bishop Jenky is sad to observe that important elements of the political establishment in the state of Illinois are now basically at war with the Catholic community and seem to be destroying their institutions. Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Peoria will be reviewing the judge’s written ruling to determine their next steps.

Bishop Thomas Paprocki joined him in saying:

The State of Illinois is actively taking steps to push Catholic Charities of the Dioceses of Belleville, Joliet, Peoria and Springfield out of foster care services, which would end a partnership that dates back to the mid-1960s with the creation of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. The message from the state of Illinois is simple: Organizations that only place children in accord with their religious beliefs are barred from state contracts – Catholics need not apply.

Catholic Charities has been caring for vulnerable children for more than 100 years, leading to DCFS’ current success rate.

As we consider the next steps in our course of action, we pray for the children and for our dedicated employees who may be so adversely affected by this decision.

I quibble about only one thing: this decision “may” not adversely effect children and those who work for and with Catholic Charities. It will adversely effect them. Parents who foster kids placed with them by Catholic Charities are already signaling that they will be forced to cease doing so:

Casey Teckenbrock, of Herrin, said he and his wife expect any transition to delay the adoption of their foster daughter. But after that is complete, they likely will cease to be foster parents for Catholic Social Services of Southern Illinois in the Diocese of Belleville.

“If the state doesn’t respect our morals, then we don’t want to do work for them,” Casey Teckenbrock said. “This will be a disaster for the 2,000 kids in foster care.”

And they aren’t alone:

“[Same-sex adoption is] a very small issue to shut an entire agency down that’s doing so much good in a community,” said Becky Wilhoit, an evangelical Christian who is not Catholic. “We specifically chose Catholic Charities as the agency we wanted to work with knowing they were religious and that they had resources to provide what we needed for our family. We know other agencies in the town can’t provide that for us. It becomes an issue for us to continue fostering.”

In other words, Catholic Charities does not represent simply “the Church” being forced to stop doing adoptions and foster care. It represents good men and women unable to help kids through Catholic Charities. It means kids not being helped by Catholic Charities. And why? David French explains it well:

Same-sex marriage advocates have long minimized its impact on religious liberty, but as this and other examples show, both religious liberty and child welfare are ultimately subordinate to sexual freedom.

In other words, political pressure exerted by gay rights groups and their political sympathizers in pursuit of establishing their right to absolute sexual freedom is squashing the right of the Church and fair-minded people to provide needy kids with a mom and dad — with care fitting the dignity of the babies and young people they serve, in other words.

And what do we do in response to this struggle between absolute sexual “freedom” and religious freedom? Which side are we on?

If we want to be on the side of the Church and supportive of the rights of Catholics and other Christians to serve vulnerable kids in the way our faith outlines there are several things we can concretely do:

1. If you live in Illinois, make a mental note to vote against every House (PDF) and Senate (PDF) member who voted for this bad civil unions bill. The Catholic Governor of Illinois Pat Quinn signed the bill. Vote him out too next time around.

2. If you live in Illinois, call your elected officials in the IL House and Senate and ask them to become a co-sponsor of the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act of 2011 (which could help this situation some).

3. For the rest of us, follow and support the Thomas More Society (which is working on behalf of Catholic Charities in IL) to learn more about the lawsuits currently pending and to discover ways you can help.

4. Help nip these problems in the bud by supporting effective pro-marriage organizations like the National Organization for Marriage (who I work with). This post on the NOM blog explains 4 easy (and free) ways you can help their efforts to protect marriage and religious liberty nationwide.

5. As always, stay informed about current Catholic news and activism opportunities here at CatholicVote.

Newly installed Springfield Bishop Thomas Paprocki fired back at Gov. Quinn after he argued that his faith was a principal motivation for backing the legislative effort:

“If the governor wishes to pursue a secular agenda for political purposes, that is his prerogative for which he is accountable to the voters. But if he wishes to speak as a Catholic, then he is accountable to Catholic authority, and the Catholic Church does not support civil unions or other measures that are contrary to the natural moral law,” Paprocki said.

Predictably, Quinn dodged the substance of Bishop Paprocki’s critique:

“I follow my conscience. I think everyone should do that. I think that’s the most important thing to do in life, and my conscience is not kicking me in the shins today,” the governor told reporters.

Peter Breen of the Chicago-based Thomas More Society was on the ground in Springfield battling the anti-marriage guns.  The exasperation in an e-mail message from him today was palpable:

I can’t begin to describe to you how differently the other side views the world we live in, how the other side understands the words “justice,” “faith,” and “love.”

…

The folks on the other side continuously invoked God and faith as their true justification for passage of this bill, one of their representatives even calling for her fellow members to “vote with the angels.” The Governor himself, a practicing Catholic, asserted in the local newspaper that, “My religious faith animates me to support this bill.”

Illinois’ actions this week reportedly came in response to heavy funding from homosexual marriage advocates who helped soften the impact of the November elections by dumping needed cash into multiple state races last month.

Political payoffs are standard business here in Chicago and Illinois.  But some argue, and I think persuasively, that Illinois isn’t your typical east or west coast ‘blue state.’  Republicans win races for high offices, and Midwest “family values” haven’t been entirely destroyed.  In fact, most of the state, outside of Chicago, is strongly pro-life and pro-marriage.  But alas, despite the fact that the state is practically bankrupt, enough legislators believed their time was best spent redefining marriage.

On a brighter note, the controversy did force the issue to the fore among those vying for the Chicago mayoral election next year.  While Rahm Emanuael reportedly made several calls to legislators in support of the law, Democratic candidate and State Senator Rev. James Meeks didn’t mince words:

“I believe in the sanctity of marriage. I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. This bill is a marriage bill,” Meeks said.

…

Asked if he thought his vote would damage his standing among gay and lesbian voters and others who favor civil unions, Meeks said, “I don’t know. But I believe in the sanctity of marriage. Perhaps it will help among everybody who believes in the sanctity of marriage.”